Evening Star Newspaper, June 25, 1933, Page 67

Architect Hermann Sorgel, the ambi- tious German who conceived the gigan- tic plan to shrink the Mediterranean and reclaim the Sahara Desert. NCLE SAM may think he has started something big with his Muscle Shoals and Boulder Dam jobs, but a little group of Europeans is working on a plan so titanic that it would make those two undertakings look like tasks for children with buckets and tin shovels. Por these folk, joined together in an organi- sation known as the Atlantropa Union, are con- sidering nothing less than the drying up of half of the Mediterranean Sea, the creation of a series of gigantic inland lakes in the heart of the Sahara, the addition of thousands of square miles to the earth’s surface and the transforma- tion of the world's vastest desert into a fertile agricultural region. Under the leadership of a German architect named Hermann Sorgel, blueprints have already been drawn up for some phases of this colossal Jjob. They call, first of all, for construction of a gigantic dam across the straits of Gibraltar, cutting off the Mediterranean entirely from the Atlantic. Next there would be a similar, smaller dam at the Gallipoli Peninsula, to close the Dardanelles. Third, a dam would cut off the Suez Canzl. The Mediterranean would become & lake. § ‘These plans are based on the fact that the great rivers which feed the Mediterranean sup- ply each year less water than the sun removes by evaporation. To maintain its level the Medi- terranean must draw on the Atlantic, so that a steady current of more than a billion gallons a year flows east past Gibraltar. ITH all inlets fiom the outer oceans cut off, and with the flow from the Black Sea blocked at Gallipoli, the Mediterranean would immediately begin to shrink, under the sun’s rays, precisely as America’s Great Salit Lake has shrunk during the last few hundred years. As it shranl’, becoming shallower and shal- lower, every adjacent country would get an enormous increase of territory along its coast- line. Such seaports as Marseille, Naples, Venice and Messina would become inland cities. The Adriatic and Acgean Seas would vanish en- tirely, leaving rich valleys deep in fertile soil in their places. The Mediterrarean would be cut in half, a solid ridge of dry land connecting Europe with Africa through Sicily and the “toe” of Italy. Neither Italy nor Greece would any longer be a peninsula. Such islands as Sardinia, Corsica and Crete would be part of the mainland. A wide bridge of land would join Spain to Mo- rocco. The vast tracts of land thus created would, according to the enthusiasts of the Atlantropa Union, be excellent farming soil and would pro- vide an outlet for the overcrowded populations of many European nations. All of this, however, tremendous in scope as it is, 1s only a part of the plan. Included as a second step is the most enor- mous hydroelectric scheme ever imagined. If the Mediterranean were entirely inclosed, the sun would evaporate its waters so fast that the sea would eventually become smaller than these dreamers intend. So it is proposed that inlet gates be installed in the dams which shut off communication with the outer seas. Since the level of the Mediterranean would be so much lower than these seas, water ad- mitted through the gates would provide a stu- pendous amount of electrical power. At the Gibraltar dam alone, it is estimated, fully 160,- 000,000 horsepower would be obtained. Gal- lipoli would add 7,000,000 more. The third part of the plan leads to the Sehara Desert. ROM the western end of the new and smaller Mediterrancan water would be diverted to form a new chain of lakes in the Sahara Desert. Parts of Tunis, today, are below sea level, and these parts could be flooded without difficulty; and the great amount of power generated at the Gibraltar dam could be tapped to pump water thence into subsequent lakes at higher levels. Prom these lakes yould radiate a chain of rrigation canals which would transform one ot the most barren spots in the world into a vast 7THF,V SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JUNE 25, 1933 How a German Architect HNowuld Reclaim Vast Lands From the Sea by the Most Stupendous Face- Lifting Job on Mother Earth That Man Has Ewver Dreamed. region of fertile soil, green grass, trees and pleasant farms. All of this, of course, would depend on suc- cessful construction of a dam at Gibraltar; and when you stop to examine a few of the figures involved you can see that this is probably the most gigantic engineering feat ever sug- gested by any one. America’s Boulder Dam is considered a giant, with a length of about 1,000 feet and a height of around 860. The Gibraltar dam would have to be some 18 miles in length, and in places the straits to be dammed are 3,000 feet deep! It is estimated that the dam at its base would have to be more than a mile thick. Just how the work at the 3,000-foot depths could be ac- complished is not quite clear, since divers can- not go down much more than 300 feet. One suggestion is that gigantic pontoons, or barges, would be filled with great quantities of rock and earth and sunk at designated spots, until the foundations had been laid. Furthermore, a strong current flows through the Straits of Gibraltar, with a velocity of around 6 miles an hour. And at the very bottom there is a slower current which flows in the opposite direction. 'O make matters worse, one of the chief things engineers have to guard against, in build- ing a dam, is the chance that water may start trickling through the wall of the dam, under- mining it and causing it to collapse. This is usually prevented by giving the dam a facing ot reinforced concrete. But it is believed to be quite impossible to lay a facing of reinforced concrete half a mile below the surface. All in all, it is estimated that the building of this dam would cost at least $4,600,000,000— which, in view of all of the difficulties involved, seems like a moderate estimate. Incidentally, Architect Sorgel plans that the dam would be 162 feet wide along the top. Here there would be space for roadways for motor traffic, railroad tracks and the like, giving Eu- rope direct rail and auto connection with Africa. Naturally enough, all of this stupendous plan would have to await the consent of a number of world powers, and whether such consent could be obtained is problematical. Gibraltar, naval base around which Great Britain has shaped her strategy for generations, would completely lose its value if this scheme were adopted—Tfor instead of guarding the straits it would simply be a lonely, rocky hill, many miles from salt water. It is also open to question whether England would want anybody building dams across her vastly important Suez Canal. Spain would stand to benefit greatly, since she would have a direct land connection with her African possessions. The same would be true of Italy, which would also come close to doubling her present territory through posses- sion of land which is now at the bottom of the =4 Turning the Sahara into a fertile agricultural region. One of the Atlaniropa Union’s sketches, showing a great pumping station bringing water in from the sea to create lakes in the desert. On the other hand, such important cities as ‘Triest, Venice, Marseille, Saloniki, §myrna and others could be expected to protest loua and long at any plan which proposed to take the water away from their harbors. Beyond these considerations, there is the question whether the feat is physically possible. Many engineers, no doubt, will insist that the job simply is beyond accomplishment. But the Atlantropa Union believes that it is entirely feasible, and plans to open a public exhibition shortly to win public support. Certainly the whole project is the most enor- mous bit of face lifting that man has ever dreamed of performing for old Mother Earth. The Straits of Gibrailtar, by the way, seem to have a fascination for engineers. Two other grandiose plans, far less spectacular than this one, but very daring nevertheless, are under consideration ‘there. NE scheme, recently conceived by French and Spanish capitalists, calls for the digging of a tunnel under the straits to provide direct rail connections between Europe and Africa. This tunnel would have to be 30 miles in One of the Atlantropa Union’s imaginative drawings. showine the huildine nf the proposed Gibraltar dam. Ta length, counting its approaches, and weuld have to go to a depth of about 1,500 feet. Not only would it link Europe and Africa more closely together; it is proposed that a rallway line be cxtended from it to the seaport ot Dakar, on the west coast of Africa, from which zomt Brazil can be reached by steamer in four ays. This would bring Europe much closer to South America and would give European ex- porters a great advantage over those of the United States in the race for South American business. The other scheme is similar to this one, in that it also calls for a Europe-to-Africa rail- road across the straits via a tunnel; only the tunnel, in this case, would float! A Spanish engineer has suggested that the tunnel be built as an elliptical metal tube, in sections, and anchored to the bottom at a point only 50 feet below the surface. L Building the tube, installing it and anchoring it firmly enough so that it would resist the strain pyt upon it by the current through the straits would, of course, be a titanic engineering problem; but the Spanish engineer believes that it would be less difficuit than digging a tumnel under the bottom of the straits. And, of course, neither of these plans com- pares in size with the proposal for the dam. It should be added, perhaps, that the ett-in- half Mediterrarean would not be strictly a landlocked sea, in the sense that access to ocean shipping would be cut off, even if the great Gibraltar dam were built. Included in the plans for the dam are pians for great locks and ship canals. The chief difference would be that very few Mediterranean ports of the present day would eontlnmtobepofl.sflthedamwrebuflt. Most of them would become jnland cities, some of them lxl:uny miles from salt water. Not least among the expenses of the project would be the building of a series of brand-new seapori® to accommodate water-borne trafiic. A Burrowin ¢ Bird THI sheldrake, the Old World salt water duck, has underground as well as underwater habits. nhmlforthcbirdstanedinholstag hto-ndd\lnudlherbyt.belirdsthflnaelm or by rabbits. These nest chambers are often unuchuthmi’eetdeepandoflmumny ufimybenrved(ranacommmm&ance. The nests are equipped with a lid of sed, A Matter of Direction - Passenger—Is there no hope of being saved® Captain—None whatever. Pasienger—How far away is the nearest land? Captain—Two miles. Passenger—In what direction? Captain—Straight down, = T